 The Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) Initiative is the first international response to provide comprehensive debt relief to the world's poorest, most heavily indebted countries. The HIPC Initiative was launched by the World Bank and the IMF in 1996, and was further expanded in late 1998 (Enhanced HIPC Initiative). Under the HIPC Initiative, the World Bank and IMF Boards first decide whether or not a country is eligible for debt relief (decision point document, see below). In a second step, all creditors (multilateral, bilateral, and commercial) commit debt relief to be delivered at a "floating" completion point. Meanwhile, the country tries to implement the policies determined at the decision point (which are triggers to reaching the completion point). Uganda was the first country to be declared eligible and to benefit from the HIPC Initiative (in April 1998), ensuring some US$700 million (in nominal terms) in debt relief, of which about 50 percent was from the World Bank. Uganda was also among the first countries to be declared eligible for debt relief under the Enhanced HIPC Initiative: in recognition of the effectiveness of Uganda's Poverty Reduction Strategy to date, the consultative process involving civil society in the formulation of the poverty reduction strategy, and the authorities' continued commitment to macroeconomic stability. In May 2000, Uganda reached the Completion Point under the Enhanced HIPC Initiative. Of the total debt-service relief under HIPC of some US$2 billion, the World Bank is providing nearly US$1 billion (US$517 million in net present value [NPV] terms; more information on the HIPC in Uganda: World Bank Uganda HIPC site). More general information about the HIPC Initiative can be found at the following links:  DevNews Media Center Issue Briefs - Debt Relief
About the HIPC Initiative
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